Saturday, August 20, 2011

Yet another anthology of fantasy and horror from Marvel, Tales of Suspense began late in 1959. For the first four years of its existence, the magazine showcased yet another batch of Stan Lee-Jack Kirby gigantic rampaging monsters. They included Kraa, Sporr, Goom, Googam, and the Green Thing. But then, early in 1963, the magazine presented not one more destructive demon but a brand new superhero.

The thirty-ninth issue (March 1963) introduced "The Newest, Most Breath-Taking, Most Sensational Superhero of All... IRON MAN!" The plot was credited to Lee, the script to Larry Leiber, and the art to Don Heck. After debuting in a thirteen-page original story, Iron Man pushed the monsters aside to become the star of Tales of Suspense. Other heroes who later showed up included Hawkeye and Captain America. From #59 (November 1964) onward, Cap and Iron Man appeared in separate stories each issue. With #100 (April 1968), the magazine became Captain America. Iron Man moved into a new title, Iron Man and Submariner, for one issue and then Iron Man #1 appeared (May 1968) appeared.

Monday, August 15, 2011

While other superheroes were thinking big, Henry Pym was thinking small. Up until Ant-Man's arrival, Tales to Astonish was just another showcase for fantasy and horror tales and such Stan Lee-Jack Kirby monsters as Moomba, Vandoom, Trull, and the Creature from Krogarr. In fact, in Pym's first appearance in #27 (January 1962) he displayed no intention of ever becoming a mini-crimefighter.

Possibly influenced by the special effects in the 1957 movie The Incredible Shrinking Man, scientist Pym invented a green fluid that could shrink anything and, to be on the safe side, another green fluid that could cause the shrunken object to grow back to its original size. Pym considered these inventions "a boon to mankind!" To test the stuff, he splashed a bit of the shrinking fluid on himself. In seconds he was the size of an ant. Finding himself in his backyard, Pym wandered into an anthill and had considerable trouble with the residents until he discovered he could use judo on the most belligerent ants. Back in his lab, he used the other fluid to get back to his regular size. Tossing both fluids out, he vowed, "They're far too dangerous to ever be used by any human again!" He also promised himself never again "to knowingly step upon an anthill."

However, by Tales to Astonish #35 (September 1962) the demand for new superheroes had increased. Thinking better of his serums, Pym reinvented them. He designed a costume of "steel mesh consisting of unstable molecules which stretch and contract as his body does." He also whipped up a cybernetic helmet that allowed him to communicate with ants. As fate would have it, just as the young scientist had donned his costume for a tryout, communist agents broke into his laboratory to steal the top-secret "gas to make people immune to radioactivity" that Pym and his assistants were also working on. Returning to the anthill as Ant-Man, he recruited a large quantity of ants and defeated the spies.

The creative team behind Ant-Man consisted of Stan Lee, who thought up the character, his brother Larry Lieber, who wrote the scripts, Jack Kirby, who penciled, and Dick Ayers, who inked. Kirby was soon replaced by the dependable Don Heck. In #44 Ant-Man acquired a tiny female associate known as the Wasp. Then in #49, perhaps tired of risking getting stepped on or swatted, Pym used his growth serum to turn himself into Giant Man. Later he became Goliath and then Yellow Jacket. In each of his alter egos he was accepted for membership in the Avengers.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

"When billionaire industrialist Tony Stark dons sophisticated steel-mesh armor of his own design, he becomes a living high-tech weapon—the world's greatest human fighting machine," explained one issue of The Invincible Iron Man. And thus it's been, with some exceptions, for nearly fifty years. One of the most trouble-ridden heroes of the Silver Age, Iron Man first appeared in Marvel's Tales of Suspense #39 (March 1963). Another of Stan Lee's many inventions, his early adventures were written by Larry Lieber, drawn by Don Heck. Tony Stark, then only a multimillionaire, was not a true superhero. But he gained an incredible array of abilities by putting on "an electrically powered, transistorized smart suit of armor equipped with offensive weaponry."

Stark developed the suit while a prisoner of the Viet Cong. He'd fallen into their hands after stepping on a land mine, which, among other things, caused severe damage to his heart. Initially the suit of super armor kept him alive with a built-in pacemaker device. After escaping from his captors with the help of a black chopper pilot named James Rhodes, Stark eventually returned to civilian life. He served as president and CEO of Stark Industries (later Stark International and later still Stark Enterprises), a member in good standing of the military-industrial complex. Rhodes came to work for him, becoming his best friend.

Iron Man's favorite foe over the years was a sinister Oriental known as the Mandarin. In its early years the saga was, as Gerard Jones has pointed out, "on odd melange of political realism, shrill anti-Communist jingoism and fanciful heroics." Although he eventually became less of a cold warrior, Stark's life was not especially happy. Unmarried, he suffered a series of romantic setbacks. In addition, a bullet wound to his spine left him crippled for a time and later another injury caused neural damage. For quite a while Stark was also an alcoholic. During the periods when Stark's problems incapacitated him, Rhodes, nicknamed Rhodey, put on the armor and served as Iron Man. That suit of armor has undergone many changes in both design, color scheme, and capabilities.

Iron Man has been a member of the Avengers and later Avengers West Coast. Numerous other artists and writers have had a hand in producing his adventures, including Gene Colan, Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, John Romita Jr., Scott Lobdell, whilce portacio, Kurt Busiek, Robin Laws, and Robert Teranishi.

Although Tony Stark has died now and then, he appears to have incredible recuperative powers.

Credits

Script: Roy Thomas
Pencils: Neal Adams
Inks: Tom Palmer

Reprinted:

in Mitico Thor, Il (Editoriale Corno, 1971 series) #63

in Kree-Skrull War Starring the Avengers, The (Marvel, 1983 series) #2 (October 1983)